The silent Crys of being a Mascot (Nagisa)

Hell has been described in various different ways in various different books, shows, movies, and plays. Often it is associated with fire, brimstone, the burning flesh of the damned and an eternal kingdom of darkness that will one day rise to claim dominion over the earth and reap the souls of the sinners and non-believers. A dark and dismal place of pure torment and pain where no joy can exist but the dim hope for redemption at the end of days... This is the hell that is portrayed in the bible and in the nightmares of man. However, this is not hell. No... Hell... Hell is working as a mascot at a theme park during an elementary school field trip, handing out juice boxes and entertaining fifty over grown toddlers, who don't know how to tie their own shoes! Don't get Jack wrong... He loved kids! He acted like one half the time... But for the love of GOD! If he had to give one more piggy back ride he was gunna introduce these kids to the business end of his Tech Slicer!

"Hyuk Hyuk! Hey Kiddies! Lets all calm down and form a single file line so we can all go on the rolercoster! Doesn't that sound fun?" the children only responded by yelling and screaming more and more as they fought for the coveted position of first in line for the rolercoster...."H-Hyuk... Hyuk... Marty's gunna need some help here...." The fact that Jack was able to keep the Marty voice going while still sounding utterly defeated would have been impressive... if it wasn't so sad...

Nagisa didn't expect to find herself in the theme park so soon. Usually she would only visit it with her brother once or twice per month but this time she went alone. The reason behind this was an essay she had to write for her French class which involved an interview with an employee between the ages of sixteen and twenty. Thankfully she knew the perfect person for the task. Marty the merry martian, of course there were many people who would take up this character's persona in order to entertain kids but after making a call to the theme park Nagisa managed to get the working schedule of the Marty she had met.

She found him surrounded by a bunch of loud kids waiting at the line for the roller coaster. Even with his mask hiding his expression he looked helpless. It looked like it was time for Nagisa to repay the favor. "Let me guess, hard day?" She said when she walked close enough to him. This time Nagisa was wearing one of her mother's designs. A kneel-length black dress along with long black boots and a red beret. It wasn't something too fanciful but it was still within Nagisa's refined taste. "Do you remember me?" She asked certain that the mascot knew who she was.

Just as Jack was beginning to be pulled into the the churning beckoning maw of the formless mass of children, a voice called out to him... The voice was like a beacon to a weary sailor, calling them to shore from a dark and deadly storm. Like the warm breeze from a roaring fire on the chilled face of an arctic explorer... Like the first episode of the second season to an anime that you have been waiting for for like... EVER!... Yes the voice was like that exactly.

Jack turned to see who's voice it was. To say he was surprised to see Nagisa again so soon would be quite the understatement. His surprise, however, was nothing compared to his relief upon seeing her,"Hyuk Hyuk! Hey kids! Look who it is! It's Marty's old pal Nagisa the... uh... Nice Neptuneian! Yeah! That don't sound absolutely made up on the spot at all!" Jack stood and put a hand on Nagisa's shoulder and whispered into her ear"Play along...." Jack began to sway back and forth,"Hyuk Hyuk, Nagisa the Nice Neptuneian is gunna lead us in a song! Right Nagisa?" regardless of Nagisa's answer Jack would begin to sing,"If you're... happy and you know it! Clap your hands!" If Nagisa joined in the kids would be eager to sing and play along, if not they would be very confused as to why she wasn't sinning along. Ether way... at least they quieted down.

This was indeed that mascot she had the other day however he apparently mistaken with someone cheerful. Did he seriously believed that she, Nagisa Sugihara, could possibly sing for the entertainment of a few noisy brats? Still she managed to maintain her composure before she spoke. "Oh my, mr. Marty you sure are a very funny person. Have I failed to mention that my family is very powerful? Yes, you see I come from a long lineage of magicians and our specialty is making people disappear without a trace.... forever" She made sure not to appear too hostile in frond of the kids but still make sure that Marty would have gotten the message.

"Therefore... if you have no interest in disappearing I would suggest you don't ask me anything silly again. Or else my magic powers might go berserk and we wouldn't want that to happen now, would we?" Nagisa wasn't used to make threats but she had to admit it was fun. A warm, motherly even, smile appeared on Nagisa's face and she felt empowered by her little speech.

Wow... Nagisa was NOT this scary last time they met... Also... she... she was kidding right?... She wasn't ACTUALLY a grand mage come from a long linage of warlocks and sorcerers... right? Then again Jack was friends with two robots and was on the hunt for angels so... Stranger things had happened. Oh man... if she was as powerful as Jack thought she was then he better rectify the situation fast. After all... Disappear without a trace was surely code for "Kill you in a fiery hell storm of death and fear"... But he still had to keep face with the kids, lest they yearn for his suffering as Nagisa did.

"Aww, looks like Nagisa is just as serious as always! I don't think she's gotten enough Ice cream today! Hyuk Hyuk! Now you kids wait in line for the ride and finish my song, while I go buy Nagisa the Nice Neptuneian an ice cream cone! Hyuk Hyuk! See ya later kids!" With that Jack grabbed Nagisa's arm and lead her away from the kids with a happy skip in his step.

Once he was out of sight he would let go of Nagisa's hand and turn towards her bowing slightly"Sorry about that... I just had to get out of there! Those kids were gunna tare me apart! I swear... kids today are monsters!" The "Marty" in Jack's voice was gone... replaced with a very exasperated Jack.

Thankfully Marty got the message, he probably would never ask her to sing for a bunch of brats ever again which was now a part of his personality she liked. She also made a mental note to use that kind of threat in the future. Normally Nagisa would be angry if a guy was to grab her hand like that but in Marty's case it felt way too innocent to annoy her and therefore she decided not to say about it or pull her hand away.

"I know exactly what you mean. Kids are only cute if they're your own differently they're tiny versions of Satan. Today it's not a day you love your job I take it. She said as she placed her hand on her waist. "But don't worry today it seems it's my turn to lift your spirits. How would you feel about giving me an interview about your...uhh... mascot experiences?" Truth to be told Nagisa wasn't sure how else she should call this interview. Sure Marty was among the employees of the theme park but his duties were much different than the others. Even his interaction with the customers was more direct.

Jack was honestly a little surprised. She wanted to interview him? Why? Jack didn't find his job to be all THAT interesting... but then again he didn't claim to understand the inner workings of a grand Mage's mind, so perhaps it made sense on a more cosmic level... Jack was just a simple Red Ranger. He didn't know no better.

"Hyuk Hyuk! Alright Little girl! If it will put a bit silly willy smile on your face, I'll answer any question you've got! Hyuk Hyuk. Ask away! YAY!" Jack then proceeded to hop back and forth while clapping his hands. Hopefully this would appease this great mage.... After a moment Jack would stop hopping and take on a more relaxed stance dropping the Marty Voice."So do you want me to do this in character?" Though he dropped the fake Marty Happy voice, his voice had a more... genuine happiness to it.

"Just try to be yourself. This interview is not about Marty the Martian but for the person behind the mask. Also the 'hyuk hyuk' thing is rather annoying" Nagisa replied calmly, she picked a small tape recorder from her purse and then pressed the rec button. "So mr. Marty. I would like to tell me how long you have been working as a mascot at the theme park and why did you chose this kind of profession?" Nagisa asked getting straight to the point. If she was to be honest with herself she was curious to find out more about the mascot. She had told him so much about her life and feelings on their first meeting it would be fair for him to reveal a thing or two about himself. "Oh yes and before I forget. Know that this interview is completely anonymous so you have no obligations to tell me your real name."

To be honst..This wasn't what Jack thought his first Interview would be like. He always saw it as him standing on the battle field... a broken ranger helmet in his hands... his suit scorched and torn, his body battered and bruised. He would limp from a cloud of smoke left behind by his one final grand attack on the evil that had threatened the earth. Waiting for him on the other side... His team, his friends... and a flock of reporters all wanting to hear the big scoop right from the ranger's mouth... But eh... This was a good place to start. After all, the best hero's all had humble beginnings, and what could be more humble then a mascot at an amusement park?... maybe... Maybe a coal miner?... eh...

"Well Miss. Nagise the Nice Neptuneian, I've worked for galazy theme park for about a year and a half now. I started working here because, as a student of Zela Academy, I needed a bit of extra spending money on the side. As for why here? Well, in this job I can make people smile more then any burger flipper could... And that's what I like to do, make people happy. Plus my other side Job as a super hero doesn't pay well so there's that... heh"

A rather charming answer. Not exactly enlightening or understandable for Nagisa but it would fit nicely in her interview. Marty the merry Martian has a student who decided to dress like a fictional character in order to spread happiness, and earn some extra money on the side. However the last part of his answer drew Nagisa's attention.

"You mentioned another part-time job or rather a hobby considering that you said it doesn't offer much financial support, you claim to be a superhero. Would you mind telling me how exactly you are helping our community through that second job of yours? Are you perhaps performing charities for the orphanage or something similar to that or do you fight crime and help the police with it's investigations?" Nagisa asked without breaking her composure. She was determinate to appear as professional as possible.

(UGH! the post I wrote deleted itself.... Sorry Nagisa... Thought I posted back)

"Yeah, I'm the leader and Red Ranger for the True-Self Sentai Personangers.... Wait..." Jack and his big mouth... Why? Why is it whenever anyone is REMOTELY interested in his work as a hero he blabs his deepest darkest secret without so much as a please! Seriously! This was getting out of hand! First Danny, Then Oki, now Nagisa! Jack really needed to learn how to keep a secret... It's ok... there is NO way she believed him. He could play it off as a joke... yeah! A joke! That should work! He hoped...

"A-And i fight crime in the dead of night with my team of Technicolored Teenagers. Together we defend the world from evil demons and shadow monsters. But my true passion is entertaining the children here at Galaxy Theme park" Jack hoped she bought it... Or... didn't take him seriously at all. The last thing he needed was for his ranger secret to be plastered all over the school news paper...

The mascot never acted like a grown up before and Nagisa had grew used to it. However she didn't expect him to use a world like "Personagers" or "True-Self". Did his team had something to do with the power of the persona? On the other had could someone be careless enough to reveal such a secret to a person he had met only once before? Either way Nagisa had to gain as many information as she could out of Marty one way or another.

"The True-Self Sentai Personangers? That sounds like a creative name for a superhero team. Please do talk more about it. I'm sure everyone would be delighted to hear a masked hero speaking about his duty. After all not everyone is brave and strong enough to assume the role of the protector of justice" Nagisa said in an attempt to flatter Marty. "Please do tell me more about it. Firstly I would like to know how you came up with that name for your team. Why personangers and not simply rangers?"

"H-Hehe... I thought we'd be talking about me as Marty! Hyuk Hyuk...."D-Damn... she was quite the inquisitive one wasn't she? This could be bad... Jack got the feeling that if she really wanted to she could uncover his secret with little to no effort... or... or did she already know? Was she just gaming him? Did she already know he was the Red Ranger and was just trying to get a confession out of him... She was trouble... that was for sure. That was it. He wasn't going to give her any more information. He would play everything off as a joke and then....

... Did she just say brave and strong?...

In one fluid motion Jack threw off his mascot costume to reveal his ranger suit underneath, carful to keep his face hidden until he was able to pull his helmet on."So! You truly wish to know of my heroics?..."




As the red smoke cleared Jack took a heroic pose and pointed towards Nagise.
" You wish to know of my battles and my team?... This was never about my role as Marty was it?...Very well, I will tell you. We are the True Self Sentai Peronangers for we fight for and along side the our own burning souls. I can not go into the details... for our power is one that the world at large is truly ready for..." Jack crossed his arms and stood ready for another question. He quietly wondered how she found him out...

Nagisa made a mental note as soon as she watched Marty's transformation: "This mascot is an idiot". Nevertheless he was clearly connected to the rifts. She thought about revealing her powers as well but a lot of people have gathered around wondering if it was some sort of event or even a television drama taking place in the middle of the theme park. Having no other option left Nagisa decided to carry on with her charade."Oh my that sounds extremely vague... I mean mysterious. Please Charging red chariot tell us more about your team. How many rangers are there? Are you going to protect the world from that weird woman who took over the football stadium?"  

Jack was slowly becoming aware of the growing crowd. At least twenty people had gathered around him and Nagisa.... Perhaps setting off a Heshin Charge was a poor decision... Well live and learn. In spite of all this however, he held his position as Nagisa asked her second question. There was something off with her phrasing... there was no doubt about it now, she was leading him. Trying to draw something very specific out of him, but how? In order to lead him to an answer she would need to know the destination... She knew more then she let on.... Clever girl. Jack smiled under his helmet and let out a small laugh. Perhaps their earlier conversation had been staged as well.... No, no that was a true conversation. Jack had seen the dim flame of her heart flicker in the winds of loneliness. Ah! that must have been it. He saw her heart, so it only made sense that she had seen his. That's how she knew he was a persona user and a ranger.

"Hehe, Flattery will get you everywhere young lady. I would be happy to tell you of my team and our goals.... However, I will not do it here. It seems we have gathered a crowd." Jack would approach Nagisa with his arms still crossed,"We both know that this is not a conversation we should have in mixed company... Fallow me," Jack would then walk towards a more secluded part of the park"Well? Shall we?"